Fastest Known Podcast

A resident of Boston, MA, Joe McConaughy set the Supported FKT for the 2,655 mile Pacific Crest Trail in 2014, and on the 26-peak Wicklow Round in Ireland last May.

Paddy O'Leary is an Irish transplant who on October 13 set the FKT on the East Bay Skyline Trail, running 32.61 miles in 4 hours, 18 minutes, 12 seconds.

Candice Burt speaks to us from Moab last fall, where she was race-directing the Moab 240 -- she basically invented the 200 mile trail racing distance.

Part two of our special Fastest Known Time of the Year Awards concludes, with the #2 and #1 winners, female and male.

All four winners are interviewed for this episode, describing how they did the super-cool FKTs that won them the awards. Who are they?

"I planned on running TNF then with no race to run, went after this iconic FKT instead."
- "It was so fast, was it like a time trial?"
- "It was a long time trial!"

...

The Fastest Known Time of the Year Awards are back for the third year!

This special episode features amazing descriptions of the #5, #4, and #3 FKTs of the Year. Check out the FKTOY page for the who and what on these awards.

Adding to the fun is Hillary Allen as co-host, and an appearance by Joe Grant, who beautifully articulates what is meaningful about this sport.

What was the preeminent FKT in 2018? What inspired you the most? What are your predictions for 2019? Tony, Clare, and Peter answer these questions and more!

Sunny Stroeer's impressive resume includes FKTs on the 22,838ft Aconcagua and its circumnavigation, the

Peter Bakwin is the only person to do the Double Hardrock, the first person to go under 4 days on the John Muir Trail, plus many other races and FKTs, and is one of the co-founders of this website and podcast.

What if running could lead to enlightenment?

This ambitious question is the heart of the documentary 3100: Run and Become. Based around the Self Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, the world’s longest certified footrace, this is an uplifting, intimate portrait of endurance runners who push themselves to the edge of physical and mental collapse, as they endeavor to challenge the boundaries of impossibility.

Jim Walmsley is one of the best ultrarunners in the world, who a few days ago (12/10/2018), with Tim Freriks and Eric Senseman, set a new FKT on the dramatic and adventurous R2R2R.alt in the Grand Canyon.

In 2014 Justin Simoni, the “Long Ranger”, bicycled to all 58 of Colorado’s 14,000’ summits, climbed them, then biked to the next in 34+ days. In 2017 he upped the standard and in 60 straight days did the “Highest Hundred” (summits in CO) in the same self-powered, self-supported style. And his background is an artist, not an athlete.

Our first-ever live recording! The Trail Running Film Festival was on a nationwide tour when it stopped in Boulder (check to see if it's playing near you), and we recorded questions and comments directly from the audience.

Q:  There are 3 styles of FKTs: Supported, Self-Supported, and Unsupported … which one is better?

Q: What’s the funnest thing the two of you have done together?

Nobody can do the big thru-hikes like Heather Anderson - she once held the Self-Supported Overall (not Female) FKT’s for the PCT, AT, and Arizona Trail - simultaneously.

Who is the first person to use the term "Fastest Known Time" in print?

Bill Wright co-wrote Speed Climbing: How to Climb Faster and Better in 2004, and has a family, a full-time job, and he climbs, bikes, or runs every day, and he balances all of that by ... going fast.

What’s a 26 year old former marathon runner doing setting the FKT on the fabled Longs Peak North Face (Cables) route?

“The FKT idea is real motivating to me - it takes away external pressure, but in other ways it adds more pressure because it’s internal - it’s all up to you.”

This past weekend Christof Teuscher became the first person to attempt and complete a quad-crossing of the Grand Canyon. That's Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim times four, (OK... R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R)!

Kyle Richardson was only 22 years old on Aug 1, when he set the new FKT on the high and technical LA Freeway.

David Horton won the first two editions of the Hardrock 100, finished the Barkley Marathons, has both run and biked across the country, and was the only person to hold the overall FKT on both the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. He knows a thing or two, including thoughts about the recent FKT action on the fabled AT.

Alyssa is a “Professional Triathlete who can’t seem to shake her ultrarunning habit”. She has finished 30 Ironman Triathlons, 40 ultra races, and once finished 4th in the Taiwan Ironman using all borrowed gear. On July 31, 2018, she set a new women's FKT on Vermont’s 273 mile Long Trail of 5 days, 2 hours.

Scott is one of the best ultrarunners in history, winning the Hardrock 100, Badwater in Death Valley, the Spartathlon in Greece, and an unprecedented 7 wins in a row at the Western States 100. In 2016 he and his wife Jenny took on a personal project, the 2,200mi Appalachian Trail, setting a new FKT of 46 days, 9 hours. This journey became a book on the New York Times Best Seller List, entitled, North: Finding My Way on the Appalachian Trail (

Learn how a Belgian dentist set the FKT on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2016, then in 2018, was over four days faster on the Appalachian Trail than two of the fastest ultra-runners in the US.

"I start to hit my stride after 2,000 miles."

"Sometimes being successful means just getting back to the car. Alive..." Learn about Tony’s success on the Long’s Peak Triathlon, why free-soloing is all about “how you feel”, and why FKTs are only limited by your own creativity.